CSS class name variables
CSS Class Name Variables
When creating CSS stylesheets, we often use class names to define different styles. However, as our website or application grows, managing these class names can become difficult. To better manage and organize our CSS styles, we can use CSS variables to define class names.
CSS variables allow us to share values across different style rules and easily change those values within our CSS files. In this article, we’ll learn how to use CSS variables to define class names so we can better organize and manage our styles.
Define CSS variables
Getting started Before we can define CSS class variables, we first need to define them. CSS variables begin with -- and follow the same naming conventions as regular CSS class names, except with two hyphens at the beginning.
:root {
--primary-color: #007bff;
--secondary-color: #6c757d;
--font-size: 16px;
}
In the code above, we use the :root pseudo-class to define global CSS variables. Here, we define three variables: --primary-color, --secondary-color, and --font-size, representing the primary color, secondary color, and font size, respectively.
Using CSS Class Name Variables
Once we have defined CSS variables, we can use them in CSS class names. For example, we can define a class called .button and use the defined color variable as the button’s background color:
.button {
background-color: var(--primary-color);
color: white;
padding: 10px 20px;
border: none;
cursor: pointer;
border-radius: 5px;
}
.secondary-button {
background-color: var(--secondary-color);
}
In the code above, we use the var() function to reference the CSS variables we defined earlier. This allows us to easily change the button’s background color without having to modify each specific style.
Sample Code
Here is a complete sample code that demonstrates how to define and apply class names using CSS variables:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html Tutorial">html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>CSS Class Variables</title>
<style>
:root {
--primary-color: #007bff;
--secondary-color: #6c757d;
--font-size: 16px;
}
.button {
background-color: var(--primary-color);
color: white;
padding: 10px 20px;
border: none;
cursor: pointer;
border-radius: 5px;
}
.secondary-button {
background-color: var(--secondary-color);
}
.text {
font-size: var(--font-size);
}
.container {
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
align-items: center;
height: 100vh;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<button class="button">Primary Button</button>
<button class="button secondary-button">Secondary Button</button>
<p class="text">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
In the example code above, we define two button classes, .button and .second-button, and apply the defined color variables. We also define a text class called .text and apply the defined font size variables.
Running Effect
Opening the above sample code in a browser, we can see that the two buttons have different background colors and the text font size is as expected. This way, we can easily modify the styles of multiple class names at once by changing the value of a global variable.
By using CSS class name variables, we can better organize and manage our stylesheets, making our code easier to read and maintain.
Conclusion
CSS class name variables are a convenient and powerful tool that can help us better organize and manage CSS stylesheets. By defining global CSS variables and using them in class names, we can easily change the appearance of styles without having to modify the styles of each class name individually. This makes our code more modular and maintainable, improving development efficiency.